Four on the Floor
by WillyFourEyes
Summary: Diane makes plans with Goldie to visit a hip dance club downtown...and she wants to bring their friends Cheryl and Sugar along for the ride. What reason does she have for not telling them all at the same time? - A Goldie Vance story in four parts, with multiple POVs. (Goldie/Diane, Cheryl/Sugar [F/F])
1. A Little Misdirection

Whenever someone steps through the doors of Wax Lips Records, they usually come in to ask me for advice on the latest new album. Rock & roll, swing, disco, soul, rhythm & blues - I've heard hundreds, maybe thousands of songs in my life, so I think I have a pretty good ear for what's hip. "Diane the Hit-Maker", they sometimes call me. Dozens of daily satisfied customers can't be wrong.

Sometimes I'll get asked out of the blue to hook someone up with someone else, whether it's for a serious date or just to make a connection for a few minutes to talk sports, movies, or politics.

Life has a funny way of bringing people together.

Take Goldie Vance, for instance...a cute young lady who pulls double duty at the Crossed Palms Resort as a valet and a detective. We first met a couple of years ago when she was trying to track down some stolen goods...something involving a space station and the Russians, I think. She asked me to help out, and we started dating shortly after solving the case. Yeah...imagine telling _that_ story to your kids in 20 years.

If you asked me what my proudest moment in life was, it'd be meeting Goldie, with getting my first real job a close second.

* * *

It's been a few days since I went to Goldie's eighteenth birthday party. The hotel had this crazy-big buffet with almost every kind of food imaginable. Her dad was there, and Cheryl, and Sugar, and _her_ dad (who still owns the place), and that guy Walt from Goldie's other job... _My_ eighteenth birthday party was big, too, but nothing like _that_.

Today, I came up with a wild and crazy idea.

There's this dance club downtown called the Seesaw. It's like our usual hangout at the Deep End diner, but they have live music performances and a huge dance floor. I've wanted to take Goldie out there for a long time, but they wouldn't let her in because she was too young. Lots of people drink and smoke there. I don't really care for that stuff.

Goldie and I have gone on dates all over town, but I haven't had the chance to get to hang out with her other friends when they weren't helping her with "important detective work". I'm hoping that a visit to the Seesaw will change that.

First things first: I call Goldie up on her lunch break. I dial the detective agency's number first because I also want to call Cheryl and tell her about the plan, but separately.

Walt answers the phone first. "Diane! You know you're not supposed to use this line for personal calls."

"I'm sorry, Walt," I say. "I promise I'll stop doing this soon. I didn't know whether or not Goldie was in her room, so I tried calling here first."

"Give me a few moments and I'll get her for you."

It doesn't take long for Goldie to pick up the phone. "Hi, Di," she says in her best "passionate" voice.

"Hello, honey," I respond. Walt must be really embarrassed hearing the two of us talk over the phone like this. "Want to go to Seesaw with me tonight?"

"Sure! I'm down for that."

"Great! I'll pick you up at six. Oh, and could you do me a favor?"

"Okay...what do you need?"

"If you see Sugar, ask her if she wants to come along, too."

If I had tried asking Goldie years ago to invite Sugar to do _anything_ with her, she would have laughed me off. Thankfully, things have warmed up considerably between the two since then, and they're almost like friends.

"Sugar?" Goldie asks. "Why do you want to bring _her_ with us?"

_Almost_ like friends.

I hate keeping secrets from Goldie, but a little misdirection is necessary for this plan of mine to work. "When was the last time the three of us ever got to hang out without worrying about money or cars or missing persons? I think we all need a break from that, don't you?"

"Hmm...Good point," she says. "I'll see what I can do. Bye, sweetie!"

We blow each other kisses as we end the conversation. I wait for a minute or two to call Cheryl at the front desk. I know Goldie can't resist telling Cheryl almost anything she knows, so I need to move quickly so that Cheryl doesn't find out that Sugar's coming along, too.

"Crossed Palms front desk. This is Cheryl speaking. How may I help you?"

"Hi, Cheryl! It's Diane," I say.

Cheryl responds calmly and professionally. For having to do that with the kinds of customers she gets on a daily basis and not lose her cool, she deserves some sort of medal. "Oh, hi, Diane! Are you looking for Goldie?"

"Actually, I just spoke with her. I actually wanted to ask _you_ something for a minute."

Cheryl starts to get suspicious. "Uh-oh... Could there be trouble in paradise?"

"No!" I say defensively. "Goldie and I are doing just fine. I just wanted to know if you'd be interested in going out dancing tonight."

"With you and Goldie? I don't know...I don't want to be in the way or anything."

"You won't be in the way, Cheryl. We're all going to have fun together. Just us girls. What do you say?"

"I guess I could come along. I feel like I could use a change of scenery after today."

"Cool! I'll swing by at six after you gals are done. Be sure to wear something nice, now."

"Sounds like a plan."

Perfect! Cheryl's in, and I can always count on Goldie to be in for whatever I'm doing. Now, I just need Goldie to get Sugar on board...


	2. Like Sugar and Spice

I wonder why Diane wanted me to invite Sugar to come to Seesaw with us. I don't even think she likes going to clubs. I have a hard enough time getting Sugar to come out to the diner after work. She seems pretty chipper today, so there's a chance this _could_ work, but I'm bracing myself for disappointment.

Sugar turns to me after directing one of the bellboys to haul some suitcases upstairs. "Goldie, what are you doing? Why aren't you out in the parking lot?"

"I just want to ask you a quick question," I say.

"It had better be quick," she demands. "We're both on the clock, and you know how much our dads hate idle chit-chat."

Sometimes I have to remind myself to toughen up when I'm talking to Sugar. She's not as easygoing as Diane or Cheryl, so the best way to get to her is to be straightforward. "Diane invited me to this dance club called Seesaw tonight after work, and she wants you to come with."

Sugar laughs, and then shakes her head in such a way that if you held her upside down, she could clean the lobby floor all by herself. "No thanks. If there's one thing Sugar Maple doesn't do, it's play third wheel."

I know the feeling.

"Come on, Sugar," I plead. "You used to tell me all the time that you wanted to hang out more."

"Funny...that doesn't sound like anything _I'd_ say. You must have me confused with some other Sugar Maple."

This isn't good...she's starting to sound like the old, 'mean girl' Sugar again. Think, Goldie...think!

"Okay...what if I offered to pay for everyone's meals? Yours, mine, _and_ Diane's?"

Sugar smirks at me. Either she's about to lay into me again for saying something so stupid, or...

"That's...awfully and oddly generous of you, Goldie."

Bingo! I've got a long way to go if I'm ever going to pay her back for that car she gave me, but it's a start.

"So, does this mean we have a deal?" I ask.

"I'll think about it."

Come on, Sugar! Don't leave me hanging! Diane's going to be here in a few hours!

"Okay, I've thought about it," she says just a few seconds later, "and I've decided to go with you...but not because you're paying."

Success! I quietly pump my fist in the air. "This is going to be great! I can't wait to see what Seesaw is like."

"Yeah, yeah...let's just get back to work before we get yelled at, okay?"

* * *

The rest of the day went pretty smoothly, all things considered. There were no cases for us to take care of, so all I had to worry about was parking cars.

When it was time for me to punch out, Walt asked me to lock up the office before heading home. I can't imagine how dull it must be for him to sit in that office all day when there's nothing to do. We really should invest in a deck of cards, or a chess table, or a Monopoly board, or something.

"Hey, Walt!" I ask as I watch him carry his suitcase to his car. "Have you ever thought about asking Mr. Maple to get you a different job within the hotel?"

"No," he says. "That office is my baby. I'd hate to think about what would happen if it ever got shut down due to lack of activity or...budget cuts."

The last few words come out of him after forcing down a big gulp of empty air. It made sense that the detective agency would be the first thing to go if the hotel ever ran into financial trouble. As far as Mr. Maple is concerned, no one would really miss it. Walt and I are the only official employees, but Diane and Cheryl are almost always there to help.

"Are you doing anything special tonight after work?" I ask.

"Eh, I'm probably just going to go home, have some dinner, do some shopping, and then come back and prepare for tomorrow."

"Shopping, eh? Well, if you find any good deals, let me know, okay?"

Hopefully, I'll still have some money left over from Seesaw, provided Sugar doesn't order all the expensive items on the menu out of habit...or spite.

After I pass my duties off to the next valet, I rush to my room and change out of my work clothes. I have no idea what kind of place Seesaw is, so I put on a nice dress that's flattering, but not too flashy. Oh...and a purse to carry the dinner and ticket money, of course.

I slip downstairs to the front parking lot, waiting for Diane's car to pull up. She's ditched her usual black leather jacket for a blue- and white-striped dress. If not for her short hair, I wouldn't have recognized her.

The moment she sees me, she puts the car in park and walks toward the front door, lifting my hands up like she's ready to take me onto the dance floor. "Look at you, all gussied up," she says.

"You're looking pretty dainty yourself," I say as I take in the view. I didn't know she even had dresses like this. "Want me to go get Sugar?"

"Yeah, if you could. I'm gonna head to the bathroom for a bit. Once you find her, wait for me in the car, okay?"

"Sure thing, babe."

It looks like Sugar had paid a visit to the ladies' room herself. I can smell powder in the air as she approaches.

"So, is Diane here?" she asks. "I was worried she wasn't going to show up and I got all dressed up for nothing."

"She wouldn't leave us behind," I say. "Her car's out front. Come on!"

I stride to the parking lot as quickly as possible. Sugar follows behind me, trying not to look like she's running. When we return to Diane's car, I take my usual spot in the front passenger seat while Sugar sits behind me.

"What's taking her so long?" she mutters. "The bathroom's not that far from the lobby..."

"Well, there's enough room in the car for four people," I say. "Maybe she went to get someone else."

"I guess that makes sense...but who could it be?"

My hunch turned out to be right, as Diane came out the front door chatting with someone on the way back to the car. When Sugar saw who the other person was, she nearly jumped out of her seat.

"_Cheryl?!_"


	3. Let's Dance

Hold on a minute, Diane...you didn't tell me Sugar was coming with us, too! What's going on here?

Well...there's no backing out of it now. You talked me into this, so here I am.

I take my seat next to Sugar and try to relax as we leave Crossed Palms behind and ride downtown. Goldie fiddles with the dial on the car stereo until she hits a song that sounds almost-but-not-quite like "Surfin' USA" and starts dancing to it.

"Ooh! They're playing one of my favorite songs!" she cheers. "Come on, Cher! Let's boogie!"

If only our hotel was closer to a good surfing spot. I'd grab a board, ride the waves, cut loose, probably wipe out, and go back to do it all over again the next day. My real dream, though, isn't to tame the ocean...I've already been to the depths of the sea. No, I want to look down on the Earth from space - to see the whole world at once in all its glory.

My spacefaring fantasy comes crashing down when I see Diane's shoulders shaking to the beat. I can tell she wants to dance along with Goldie even though she can't take her hands off the steering wheel.

To my right, I see that even Sugar has gotten caught up in the rhythm. There's something funny about watching a rich girl wave her arms about to a song that wouldn't even be on her radar if someone else wasn't playing it.

"Hey, Cheryl! Why aren't you dancing?" Sugar asks. "Don't you like this song?"

"I don't _hate_ it," I say. "I'm just...saving my energy for the dance floor. Yeah."

Sugar raises an eyebrow. She can see right through my lie. "Okay, then. You'd better show me some moves when we get to Seesaw, or else!"

I have no idea what she's getting at with this "or else" thing, but if she wants to see me dance and make a fool of myself in public, then I'll be glad to show her a thing or two.

* * *

We pull up to the parking lot of Seesaw, and the place is packed with cars. The best parking space Diane can find feels like miles away from the actual building, but at least we have easy access to the road so we can get back home quickly.

"Ladies," Diane says as we all step out of the car, "welcome to Seesaw."

From where I'm standing, the first thing I can see is the club's name in a yellow neon sign over a two-story building. The jam-packed parking lot alone is an impressive sight to behold. It looks like this place gets almost as many customers as Crossed Palms, but who's to say that this isn't just one of their "on" nights?

We take our time walking up to the front door. Diane and Goldie take the lead, loosely holding hands until we all get in line. We're so tightly packed together that we could all hold hands and nobody would notice.

"Wow...this place is out of control tonight," I say. "Do you think there'll be enough room on the dance floor for everyone?"

"Of course there will," Diane assures me. "They still have to comply with fire safety codes, so once a few more people leave, we get a few steps closer to getting inside."

It certainly feels like a traffic jam the way the line is moving. Every five minutes, a few customers exit, allowing the rest of us to move forward. Sugar and Goldie dig through their purses to have their ID cards ready. I sneak a peek through mine, but only when I'm sure there aren't any pickpockets around. One can never tell with a crowd this big.

After some time, we reach the front of the line. The bouncer greets us with a nod, but he doesn't look happy to see anyone. "Welcome to Seesaw," he says flatly. "You ladies got ID?"

We all show our cards to him one at a time. He lets Diane in first because she's technically the leader of our group. We form a line behind her and head straight inside, seeking out the nearest open bar. There are enough seats for all four of us to sit down in a line. Predictably, Diane and Goldie pair up and take the two seats to our left. I sit down next to Goldie, and Sugar takes a seat to my right.

"What do you want to do first, Cheryl?" Sugar asks. She swivels around in her stool to get a good look at the dance floor, and then turns around again to look at the drinks behind the bartender. It's an impressive display, but we all know that we're not allowed to drink anything from that rack.

"Let's chat for a bit," I say.

Sugar laughs. "Chat? With so much noise going on, we'll barely be able to hear each other."

"We won't get that many chances to talk like this at the hotel," Goldie adds, "so why not now?"

"All right, all right...I'll go first."

The man behind the bar asks us if we want anything to eat. Diane and Sugar each ask for small dishes of chips with cheese dip. Goldie orders a hot dog, and I ask for a soft pretzel.

Once everyone receives their food, Sugar turns her attention to me. "How long have you and Goldie known each other?"

"We've been friends since the fifth grade," I tell her. "She's almost like a sister to me."

Sugar sighs. Maybe I shouldn't have used the "s-word" with her. She and her sister have a..._strained_ relationship, to put it lightly. "It must be nice having someone you can be that close to..."

"What about all those guys you used to race against?"

"That's different," she says. "We only used to get together once a week. We never really hung out after we raced."

"Oh. I guess that makes Goldie, Diane, and I your closest friends then, right?"

"I'm surprised, Cheryl. I used to think you and Goldie just thought of us as 'the boss' daughter and the three girls she checks on sometimes'."

Before I know it, I've gone through half of my pretzel. I put some mustard on the other half and try to eat it without getting any on my dress.

"That's all in the past," I say. "You're one of us now. Right, Goldie?"

Goldie sneaks a cheese-coated chip from Diane's plate and turns toward us. "I wouldn't have invited you out if you weren't," she says.

"Uh...thank you," Sugar says.

She offers me one of her chips, but I've got an eye on the cheese dip in the center of the bowl. "You're putting mustard _and_ cheese on that thing? Yuck!"

I dip my mustard-coated pretzel into the cheese dip and take a bite. "You're right...this was a bad idea."

Shortly after I dispose of my ill-advised mustard-and-cheese pretzel bite, the dance floor opens up as the house band starts playing a song they call "Life Picks You Up."

"I think that's our cue," Diane says. "Everybody stick together! Let's show these folks at the Seesaw how we get down!"

Goldie drops a pile of bills onto the counter to pay for everyone's meals, and we all follow Diane to the floor. There's just barely enough room for us to form a foursome. It's hard to tell how many groups there are as everyone seems to change partners every few seconds. Our group is the only one that sticks together - Goldie starts off partnered with Diane, and I'm dancing with Sugar.

We watch another group of four dance and spin around in the center of the floor while the crowd cheers them on. They're not doing anything fancy or wild, but they look like they're having the time of their lives.

When they move off to the side, Goldie takes Diane to the center and starts dancing along to the saxophone solo, with me and Sugar joining them. Neither of our groups has any real plan; we're just shaking our legs, waving our arms around, and occasionally switching off to different partners. It soon starts to sound like the saxophone guy is playing along to our moves instead of the other way around, and the crowd is eating it up.

After a couple of exchanges, we're back to our original partners, and everyone is on the dance floor again. Sugar and I grab onto each other's hips to keep from drifting off. She's smiling and laughing, and for a moment I honestly think I swapped with someone else's girl by mistake.

"Not bad, Cher," she says. Now I'm _really_ concerned. Only Goldie ever calls new "Cher".

"You're not so bad yourself," I say, unsure whether I sound like I'm flirting with this girl or just complimenting her dance moves. Either way, I think I see Diane winking at me as Goldie spins her around in my direction.

At last, the music finally stops, and I am sweaty, out of breath, and ready to head back home.

"Wow! That was...that sure was something," Diane pants. "Did everyone...have a good time?"

"I've never...danced so hard...in my life," Goldie says as she clings to Diane to try to stand herself upright. "Cheryl...we're gonna...need to do...some more...training later."

"Sure," I say, "if you think...you can keep up..."

"I feel so gross and icky right now," Sugar complains.

"We'll have plenty of time to shower and stuff when we get back to the hotel," Diane says. "Come on...let's get out of here."

Goldie and Diane slip out of Seesaw ahead of us. I try to push my way around the exiting crowd to join them...but then Sugar grabs my hand and pulls me off to the side as soon as we get out the door.


	4. Do You Want to Know a Secret?

I have no idea why I just did that.

Our night is pretty much over and Goldie and Diane are ready to go, so why am I hesitating? My heart is pounding like crazy, too, and I don't think it's just from the whirlwind dance-off we just had.

Cheryl turns to me, looking annoyed. "Sugar, what are you waiting for? The car's right over there!"

"I don't think we'll need to worry about that for a little while. Look."

I spot Diane's car in our middle-of-nowhere parking spot, and I can just barely see her and Goldie making out in the back seat. Those two can be so unbelievable sometimes.

"Well, if those two are going to waste our time," I say to Cheryl, "then I'm sure they won't mind if we waste theirs."

Cheryl shakes her head in disbelief. "Oh, geez...why is everyone acting so weird tonight?"

"Don't act like you're so innocent either, Cheryl."

She could have let go of my hand at any time, but she's still clinging onto it like I'm about to float away.

I take her behind the Seesaw and lean against the wall so that nobody, not even Diane or Goldie, can see us. "You know, I think I'm starting to agree with you," I say.

"About what?" Cheryl asks.

"About this whole night being 'weird'. When Goldie came to me and asked me to go to this club with her, she didn't tell me you were coming. Did she talk to you at all about tonight?"

"No. And she usually tells me everything. I learned about Seesaw through Diane."

"Did Diane tell you that I had been invited to this little club, too?"

"No, she didn't."

"Interesting..."

Suddenly, I feel like several light bulbs are clicking on in my head. Diane and Goldie keeping us in the dark about the other's involvement, and then darting off to the car at the end of the night to give us time alone... There was only one logical conclusion I can come up with...

"Cheryl...do you think this 'girls' night out' was just an elaborate plot to push us closer together?"

"What?! That's crazy!"

Cheryl acts surprised, but I can tell she thinks I'm right about this.

"Is it? What about the fact that we're the only two single girls in our group and neither of us bothered to look at any of the other guys in the club the whole night? Is that crazy, too?"

"That's not crazy," she says. "I just came out here to eat, chat, and cut loose. I wasn't specifically looking for a date."

"You didn't have to. Whether we like it or not, it looks like a date 'found' us."

Cheryl gently squeezes my hand, and my pulse spikes again. I feel like I need to sit down, so I take her over to the bench across from us, sacrificing privacy for comfort.

"There's something else I wanted to ask you, Sugar," she says.

"I'm listening."

"Why did you move back to Florida? I thought you were going to look after your nieces and nephews in Texas and become an actress or something. What happened to all that?"

"It was hard to get any good roles," I reply. "I was mostly getting voiceover spots for commercials on TV programs that only aired in the dead of night. That's not the kind of thing I feel like I'm good at. I want to be out in front of the cameras, showing off my face and acting prowess to the world."

"You've still got plenty of time to practice. Maybe one day, some casting agent will notice you and pick you up for something good."

"I hope so."

Slowly, Cheryl inches closer to me, still holding onto my hand. "Did you miss the hotel?" she asks.

"Yeah. I missed talking with everyone there...but mostly you."

"'Mostly me', huh? What do you mean by that?"

"You're always such a diligent worker. Dad knows he can count on you to stay focused." I start to trail off, trying not to look too long into her eyes. "And...I know I can count on you to keep me from getting lost in a crowd. That's the kind of thing I like most in a dance partner."

"It certainly helps that I have someone who's willing to let me hold onto her," she says with a wink and a smile.

Sensing that my "Cheryl time" is almost up, I decide to make a bold move. "Would you like to do this again sometime? Just you and me?"

"Am I going to get in trouble for dating the boss' daughter?" Cheryl asks.

"Not if you treat her right," I whisper into her ear before leaving a very soft kiss on her cheek. Seeing her blush like that is much more satisfying than having her recoil in fear when I'm feeling frustrated and need to vent.

We don't get much further than that when I hear Diane's car horn in the distance. I guess she and Goldie finally came up for air long enough to remember we're still here.

"Ready, Cherry?" I ask.

"Oh, so I'm 'Cherry' now?" she teases. "Were you serious just now, Sug, or was that your 'acting instinct'?"

I whisper into her ear again. "That wasn't an act."

We break hand contact as we approach the car and get back into our seats. Diane looks back and asks, "Did you two enjoy yourselves tonight?"

Cheryl and I nod.

"I know _I_ did," Goldie says. "We should definitely do this again one night."

"Next time, though, ladies," I say, "could you two let us _both_ know when you're going to do something like this?"

"And spoil the big surprise at the end? Where's your sense of adventure, Sugar?" Diane says.

I knew it...this _was_ a stealth double date!

"It...certainly was a pleasant surprise," Cheryl says.

"Yeah. I'm glad you brought us all out to...bond," I say, only hinting that I think I've solved Diane's plot.

Diane sees the parking lot start to empty and follows some of the cars onto the main road. "I'm glad everyone had fun," she says, "but it's time we headed back. I'll drop you ladies off and go hom-"

Goldie quietly shushes Diane and looks back at me and Cheryl, who's already fallen asleep and nestled against my shoulder. I feel like I should return the favor, but not with them staring at me like this.

"By the way, Goldie..." I say as I feel fatigue setting in.

"What is it?" she asks.

"Thanks."

"Huh? What for?"

"For offering to pay tonight. What did you think I was talking about?"

Goldie just nods and turns back to the road ahead of her. "Okayyyyy."

Everybody who's still awake giggles quietly as we drive back to Crossed Palms. I wrap my arm around Cheryl and pull her closer to me, falling asleep and wondering how quickly word of tonight's trip will get around the hotel...


End file.
